Ferris State Hockey Receives National Statistical Recognition

Jul 22, 2011

Simply the best . . . better than all the
rest.

Those words have significant meaning for the Ferris State
University men's ice hockey program as the Bulldogs have been
crowned National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I
national statistical champions in penalty-kill percentage for the
second season in a row.

The 2010-11 Ferris State Bulldog team earned the nation's top
billing with a school-record .886 penalty-kill percentage after
registering a national-best .884 percentage for the 2009-10
campaign. Individually, senior left wing Mike
Embach (Orland Park, Ill.) was duly honored on
the same level with a plaque as a result of his
national-leading and school-record tying five short-handed
goals this 2010-11 season.

Ferris State, under head coach Bob
Daniels, was tops among 58 NCAA-I teams in
penalty-kill percentage as the Bulldogs were successful in denying
156 of the opposition's 176 power-play opportunities. FSU
placed three percentage points ahead of fellow Central Collegiate
Hockey Association (CCHA) member Miami (Ohio), which recorded
an .883 efficiency rating (181-205) in penalty-kill
situations. The 2010-11 Bulldogs' .886 penalty-kill success
rate also represents a school single-season record, shattering the
.884 mark set by the 2009-10 squad.

Embach, who compiled a third-most tying 18 points on
eight goals and 10 assists in 39 games this past season,
averaged 0.13 short-handed goals per contest. All of his five
career shorties occurred in the 2010-11 campaign. The Bulldog
skater finished one short-handed lamplighter ahead of Brian Gibbons
and Cam Atkinson both of Boston College and Minnesota-Duluth's Mike
Connolly. Embach also etched his name into the Ferris
State record books by tying Tom Rudrud (1982-83), Rod Schluter
(1988-89), and Rob Collins (2001-02) for the most short-handed
goals in a single season.

Among the other 2010-11 season final statistical category
leaders, Ferris State placed fifth nationally in both scoring
defense (2.21 gpg.) and combined special teams (54.8%).

Ferris State concluded its 32nd season of competition at the
NCAA Division I level this 2010-11 campaign with an
18-16-5 overall record and a fifth-place 12-12-4-3 (43 league
points) CCHA mark. The 18 victories compiled by the Bulldogs
represented a tie for the eighth-most single-season wins in the
program's history.